10 of the best tech gifts for early adopters

Is there a tech pioneer in your family? Someone you know love to be at the cutting edge of innovation? We're expecting yet more consumer electronics developments next year, but you needn't wait to get ahead of the curve.

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We've already seen a number of products introduced with the ability to support the latest tech trends – and that means you'll be able to get your hands on them this Christmas.

So here are 10 of the best Christmas gift ideas that'll put you ahead of the tech curve, before you can sing Auld Lang Syne. From AV receivers that bring cinema sound quality to your home to the latest TV technologies, the future is now...

The future of TV

Okay, so we've been talking about 4K UHD TV for some time now but 2015 is surely the year it takes to the skies. Why do we say that? Well, we're seeing more content available and, more importantly, we're seeing the cost of hardware fall – like this super-sharp 48in Samsung set.

LG has now turned its back on plasma and one reason is OLED – put simply, the company is expecting huge things from this screen technology and this 55in curved Full HD set comes to the market at a quarter of the cost of LG's first OLED set.

Dolby Atmos

We knew the Pioneer SC-LX58 was good, but now it's even better. It was crowned Best home cinema amp at our 2014 Awards and has added Dolby Atmos surround sound support thanks to a software update. And that's just one of the Pioneer's plus points...

A 5.1.2-channel network AV receiver and speaker package that will bring Hollywood into the home, Onkyo is one of the manufacturers at the forefront of the Dolby Atmos revolution. It can also stream high-resolution music too.

High-resolution audio

This is how a portable music player should be. It comes with a big, clear screen; an elegantly proportioned and lightweight (103g) body; and a stack of functionality beyond playing high-res music files. Luckily, it does that very nicely, too.

Due to go on sale this month [December], the ST-C700 network player is among the new hi-fi products that marks the return of the Technics brand to the premium end of the hi-fi market. It has aptX Bluetooth and supports a range of file formats up to 24-bit/192kHz.

It's fair to say we've been rather impressed with new manufacturer Bluesound, both in its parts and as a whole. The unamplified Node is just one of its five-star performers and doesn't have to be used in a multi-room capacity. It's high-res audio capability matched with top-notch sound make it a winner.

Multi-room has gone mainstream in 2014 and Music Flow is the debut effort from LG, with the range starting at £50 for the R1 network bridge, rising up to £500 for the HS6 soundbar. High-res audio is one of its features, together with support for a range of streaming services.

Up... Stream

A new music streaming service has arrived in town, and follows in the footsteps of Qobuz and Deezer Elite (in the US) by offering CD-quality lossless music streams. A premium music service such as this might just change the game, when it comes to streaming in 2015. Although Meridian has other ideas...

House of Cards? Breaking Bad? In ultra high-definition? Netflix has launched a 4K streaming service that'll deliver on that. If you have a compatible TV and an internet connection to match, you can upgrade to the Ultra HD option.